National Theatre Wales names Kully Thiarai as new artistic director

Thiarai, from Doncaster’s Cast venue, is succeeding John McGrath, who has been appointed artistic director of Manchester international festival

Kully Thiarai: ‘The scale of the ambition at National Theatre Wales and the vision it has, embedded in artistic integrity and aspiration and reach ... it is very exciting.’
Photograph: Gary Calton for the Observer

“It is fantastically exciting,” said Thiarai. “A bit scary and thrilling all at the same time, as these things are. The scale of the ambition at National Theatre Wales and the vision it has, embedded in artistic integrity and aspiration and reach … it is very exciting.”

McGrath, the founding artistic director of Wales’s English language national theatre, is succeeding Alex Poots as artistic director of Manchester international festival.

McGrath said he was delighted by the appointment of Thiarai, who he said was “an inspiring leader with a proven commitment to extraordinary international theatre, and to deep engagement with the widest range of communities – she is a perfect choice for this fantastic job.”

Thiarai’s work in Doncaster has been widely praised. Before Cast opened – in a formerly neglected quarter of the town – Doncaster was one of the least arts-engaged places in the UK. Cast opened on a shoestring budget and managed to draw in 40,000 people in its first three months.

She said she had been hugely inspired by the “range and diversity” of work over the five years of McGrath’s leadership. It was “daring and provocative and joyous and asks big questions about who we are”, she said. “All of that is thrilling to play with as an artistic director.”

She added: “I intend to build on this legacy by ensuring National Theatre Wales continues to original, radical and relevant. Many organisations have contributed brilliantly to making the company such a national and international success and I look forward to working with them all.”

Before Doncaster, Thiarai was artistic director at Leicester Haymarket and Manchester’s Contact Theatre.

Dai Smith, chair of the Arts Council of Wales, said: “In a short space of time, National Theatre Wales has gone from the dream of a national need to the reality of a national marker for Wales, both here at home and on the international stage.

“Now comes the challenge of the second act: how to continue to be daring, radical, rooted and inspirational in the young tradition which NTW has created. In appointing Kully Thiarai, a creative talent whose own vision and practice clearly mirror what Wales has been enjoying from NTW, the signal given out is bright and confident.”